Blessed Jane of Aza

Mother of Saint Dominic and Blessed Mannes, Blessed Jane was born of the prominent d’Aza family and married Felix de Guzman. Three of their children spent their lives in the service of the Church: Anthony, Mannes and Dominic. An early source describes her as...
Domini Canes

Domini Canes

“Better to illuminate than merely to shine to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate.” – St. Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologiae II-II Qu.188 a.6 Detail from the west window of St Catherine’s in New York. The dog with the torch is a...
Lumen Ecclesiae

Lumen Ecclesiae

Dominic is referred to as “Lumen Ecclesiae” (“Light of the Church”). The “O Lumen,” a hymn to Dominic, is sung nightly in the Dominican communities throughout the world. The above excerpt is from Reflections of Dominican...

The Rosary of the Virgin Mary

While he was the reigning pontiff, Pope St. John Paul II was known for his devotion to the Most Holy Rosary. In his apostolic letter, “Rosarium Virginis Mariae,” he writes about it’s relevance to the Christian life, and the relationship between the...
St. Agnes of Montepulciano

St. Agnes of Montepulciano

A Dominican nun, Agnes (1268 – 1317) was renowned for her diligence in prayer and her extraordinary charity. Although born of a wealthy family in Gracchiano, Italy, she believed that charity is the only way to acquire the virtue of humility: there is no humility...